It still a bit early to throw ourselves headlong into trade possibilities, but it’s pretty apparent the Giants could make a serious run with one more middle-of-the-order hitter.

I hereby nominate Derrek Lee.

He’s a right-handed power hitter, which means his home run pop could play at AT&T Park. He’s a terrific defensive first baseman. He’s a clubhouse leader with playoff experience. He’s in the final year of a contract that pays $13 million annually.

And he’s a Sacramento native, so I have to believe he’d at least consider waiving his no-trade clause.

The Giants will have competition, though. The Angels are in obvious need of a first baseman after Kendry Morales’ leg went sis-boom-bah on home plate a few weeks back.

Lee will be playing for his next contract, so perhaps he’d be more enticed to play for Anaheim, where he might believe he could put up better numbers. Or maybe his NL and NorCal roots would tug him toward the Giants.

First, the Cubs have to fall out of contention. And they won’t be ready to pull the plug anytime soon.

—
There are plenty of Giants who are underperforming this season. Pablo Sandoval isn’t the only one.

But he might be the most disappointing, just because his potential is so vast and his role in the offense is so important.

It’s one thing to hit into double plays or slump at the plate. It’s another to miss a squeeze sign and get a runner thrown out in a one-run loss. Those kinds of things simply cannot happen.

Pablo is a happy-go-lucky guy on the field, and it’s one of his most endearing qualities. When it’s channeled the right way, it can energize the whole team. But sometimes you wonder if he’s maintaining the proper focus.

We know he has to take his conditioning more seriously, too.

It’s also apparent that the word is out on Sandoval’s right-handed struggles. Reds Manager Dusty Baker turned him around all series, and did it twice Thursday. Sandoval had two singles and a fly out to the wall while batting left-handed against Mike Leake. But he struck out and hit a foul pop against lefties Daniel Ray Herrera and Arthur Rhodes, who were brought in to face him.

Sandoval is now batting .239 from the right side.

It’s up to him. He can be a superstar in this league. But for the first three months of the season, he’s been far less than that.

—
You might wonder what got Guillermo Mota so riled up during the eighth inning – other than the Reds’ three-run rally to take the lead.

Well, Mota already was on tilt after he thought he’d struck out Brandon Phillips twice before his tying, two-run triple. Then he should’ve had Joey Votto’s grounder up the middle that scored Phillips with the tiebreaking run.

Finally, Mota had a “you lookin’ at me” exchange with Votto on first base. Mota said he looked at first several times because he saw Buster Posey fiddling with his glove and wanted to be sure it’d be safe to throw over. Votto threw up his arms, thinking Mota was giving him the ol’ stinkeye.

Tensions escalated from there. Mota tends to let that happen. But it appeared to be a simple misunderstanding.

Maybe the whole thing rattled Votto, because he forgot how many outs there were and got doubled off on Scott Rolen’s routine fly out to center.

—
This wasn’t a clean game. The first 1-2-3 inning for either side came in the bottom of the seventh. Thank you for that, Santiago Casilla.

Casilla’s fastball hit 99 mph, by the way.

—
Nice baserunning play by Posey in the third inning. Posey was caught in no man’s land after and hit-and-run went awry courtesy of a pitch well wide of the strike zone to Bengie Molina. But rather than give himself up, Posey let the play develop and went back to first. Votto dropped the throw and Posey was safe. Hey, you never know, kids. Even big leaguers make simple mistakes.

—
The Reds fans love Arthur Rhodes here, and for good reason. He’s got a scoreless streak of 24 2/3 innings. That’s the longest by a Reds reliever since John Franco pieced together 27 1/3 scoreless innings in 1988.

—
Notebook has an item on Andres Torres’ heavy lumber, along with news on Bruce Bochy’s All-Star selection to the coaching staff and Madison Bumgarner’s suspension. Gamer is all about the game. Sorry, I have no choice on that one. Check them out once they’re posted.

—
Freddy Sanchez said the Giants are ready for the A’s this time and that Oakland will see a different team than the group they held to one run in three games.

It certainly does seem like the Giants have more going for them offensively.

—
It was my nightmare scenario in the press dining room today. You guessed it, they were serving Skyline chili. The stuff is noxious. I’d rather dip a bowl into the Gulf of Mexico and drink that sludge.

Good thing they also have a well equipped salad bar, with hummus too!

Duane Kuiper, aware of my feelings for Skyline, looked at me munching my vegetables and took great enjoyment in the moment. Then he disappeared. A minute later, a bowl of carrot sticks and snap peas got plunked down next to my tray.

Thanks, Kuip.

Andrew Baggarly

Andrew Baggarly has documented the most eventful era in San Francisco Giants baseball history, having covered the team since 2004 for th​ree major media outlets including the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune​. This is his 20th season as a baseball writer.
​Baggarly is the author of the bestselling book, A Band of Misfits: Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants, and the newly published Giant Splash: Bondsian Blasts, World Series Parades and Other Thrilling Moments By the Bay. Baggarly’s other notable life accomplishments include running as the Bratwurst in the Milwaukee Sausage Race and becoming a three-time Jeopardy! champion.

To give a little stat-based reasoning why Derrek Lee would be a good player to look at: he is a perfect buy-low candidate based on how he has played this year.

Last year, he had a rip-roaring .306/.393/.579 AVG/OBP/SLG line, with a .412 wOBA for those of you who know what that is. This year, it has plummeted to .234/.339/.372 with a horrific .318 wOBA (for a first baseman). What’s the difference? Nothing substantial in his hitting performance. He is simply getting very unlucky on balls hit into play.

How do people typically measure that? They look at the player’s batting average on balls in play (BABIP), and see how that stacks up with his historical line drive rates (LD%). When a player suffers a drop in BABIP, sometimes it means his hitting skills have dropped, and he is hitting many fewer line drives. But when the LD% remains high and BABIP drops, it means he is scorching a lot of balls right at fielders. That unluckiness will even out over the long haul.

Derrek Lee has actually INCREASED his LD% to 22%, higher than it has ever been for the last 4 years. His BABIP has dropped to to .273: the previous five seasons, it was .343, .323, .364, .330, and .327.

He’ll get back on track. The projection systems recognize this: ZiPS says he’ll hit .280/.366/.475 with a .370 wOBA for the rest of the season. I’d gladly take that kind of production from a mid-season acquisition.

The question is if Sabean is smart enough to see this, or at least smarter than Jim Hendry (Cubs GM) and the Angel’s GM to get Lee without giving up something obscene like Bumgarner. I wouldn’t count on it, but a man can still hope.

What a frustrating game by the Giants on getaway day in Cincy. I followed the game via radio and there were plenty of knucklehead plays on both sides. I have 3 nominees for Knucklehead of the Game for June 10th.

1) Todd Wellemeyer for not striking out intentionally with one out (top of the 3rd) and the bases loaded. He hit into an inning ending double play and then to compound the situation tweaked his quad trying to beat the throw to first. He was pitching well but the quad injury forced him out of the game. The Giants had to go to the bullpen and lost their 4-0 lead.

2) Danny Bautista for not being mentally ready to come into the game when Wellemeyer left due the quad injury. On the postgame “rap” on KNBR Mike Krukow really gave it to Bautista for not being mentally prepared to enter the game in the bottom of the 3rd as well as having a weird throwing regimen to pitch in the bottom of the 3rd. Bautista made about 20 throws bit none of them off the pitchers mound. Krukow said the slope of a mound is something every pitcher needs to get used to. Bautista faced the Cincy pitcher to start the bottom of the 3rd and walked him. By the time the bottom of the 3rd was over the Giants 4-0 lead was gone and the game was tied at 4.

3) Pablo Sandoval: As noted by Baggs our beloved Panda missed the signal for the squeeze and hung out Eli Whiteside. Where is this guys head? Do Pablo and Hanley Ramirez have some sort of psychic connection? Back to batting in the 8th spot for you Panda.

(props to Bengie Molina for 2 hits that each drove in a run, for Aaron Rowand for his homer and taking a walk. Even more I am glad Rowand got plunked as I think part of his slump the last 4-5 weeks is tied into that pitch that got him in the face. He got hit, he survived so now play ball but go the other way with the outside stuff, props to Santiago Casilla for bringing the smoke in his two innings of relief).

This was a winnable game that would have made for a 5-2 road trip. A 4-3 road trip is nice but 5-2 would have been so sweet. You vote for the knucklehead but it looks like the quad injury to Wellemeyer may mean it is time for Madison Bumgarner to get the call while Todd goes on the DL. Can a player in AAA that is on suspension get a call up to the bigs and play?

Derek Lee? But then that would mean Posey would have to play….where? Where, oh where could we put Buster Posey?

Anyway, I don’t know how much Derek Lee helps. Besides not having done much this year so far, it doesn’t really matter how many “middle-of-the-order” hitters you get if you keep hitting into DP’s. I know the Reds middle infield made some nice plays (and got a favorable call on one), but hitting into three of them (two on the first pitch, one with your pitcher who should’ve never let the bat leave his shoulder in the first place) with 1 out and the bases juiced ain’t gonna cut it. 13 hits, 8 walks, 1 HBP, and 1 man reaching on an error and only 6 runs to show for it. It should’ve been alot more. And I don’t think the Cubs are just gonna give Lee away.

I’ve been ripping on Sandoval alot this season (FAT! – I do love that Jim Rome sound bit) but it’s clear he’s suffering from the Sophomore slump. Teams have figured him out. Now does he have the professionalism to figure the rest out.

For that reason I would strongly suggest (like Bochy will ever listen to me…) to bat 5th. Especially once Posey is comfortable enough to bat 3rd (And honestly, while I believe it’s better for Posey to get about 100+ at bats prior to moving up in the Batting order maybe he can handle the fire). Back to Sandoval, 5th is a very important position, but it’s easier then batting 3rd where it’s pretty important to take advantage of the table setting by Torres & F. Sanchez.

Huff could bat 3rd until Posey is ready, other wise he’d bat cleanup.

Uribe can bat cleanup until Posey’s ready other wise he’ll bat 6th.

I for one hope FAT Sandoval can turn it around – hopefully days like today help him realized that Happy go lucky is great when ur young and just in the league, but to stay and be the bad-arse we all want him to be, he’s going to have to turn it up several notches.

It sure is easy to complain about the Sabean misses or problems. I doubt there is a single GM, no matter how much $$ he/she has to spend, that gets it right 100% or even 50% of the time.

Seems that at the same time one has to hand out some props to Sabean & Co for drafting or bringing: Lincecum, Cain, Sandoval, F. Sanchez (in spite of physical issues), Huff, Uribe, Posey, Wilson (in spite of TJ surgery), J Sanchez.

Burrell seems like a solid and very cheap pick up.

Torres is a hell of a 32 year old castoff.

Derosa: If his surgery had worked out as planned he would probably be a solid, contributing member of the team. No one could have known it would fail, so a half a prop is at least due to the management for bringing him in.

Credit AND blame where it is due. I suppose it is awfully satisfying to only point out the failures and potential failures.

I wish Schierholtz, Bowker and Ishikawa would force their way into the lineup. But they simply haven’t, despite all the promise. Posey has.

Okay, so I don’t get why people think Huff is okay in the outfield long term. I really like him, he’s doing yeoman’s duty, appreciate his willingness to go anywhere / any day and all, but I just don’t see him as an outfield solution. At this point, I’d take Huff at first and pass on Lee if he has to go to first base only.

Is there an overarching philosophy behind these moves that portends success in the future?

Lincecum, Cain, Wilson and Sanchez are notable- great, Sabean & Co have one aspect of the game down. But to get anywhere in baseball, the offense has to be at least passable.

Sandoval- overseas free agent doesn’t walk, lacks any plate approach whatsoever, doesn’t hit for two years and suddenly explodes against all odds into an MLB All-Star based on an obscene contact and line-drive rate that makes him a huge outlier in the baseball world

Huff, Uribe, Torres- fliers on old players, hoping that they find the glory days again or discover power that they never had before

Posey- good draft pick

Freddy Sanchez- it’s nice for him to be around but this was a bad, bad trade

The hitter acquisitions (besides Posey) are indicative of good fortune and unexpected improvements, and still the offense is not close to average. Is this a process you can trust? Imagine if Uribe, Torres, and Sandoval had not blossomed into the best hitters on this team, against all odds. Many of us would be singing a far different tune.

The point is that picking out individual moves is not the endgame; looking at them as a reference to a philosophy or a process in the front office is just as important, and there’s not much to excite one’s hopes of a great offense and a playoff-bound team when one analyzes Sabean & Co’s moves as a whole.

And Sandoval (and the entire team’s league leading DPs) are certainly a concern. Will they continue to be? Maybe not. But the DPs aren’t “just happening”. It isn’t just “bad luck”. Pitchers know Sandoval’s hacktastic approach at the plate and pitch him accordingly. They pitch to induce those groundballs. Like Baggs showed the other day, seven of those GIDPs happened on the first pitch and all (now 15) on four pitches or less.

Do you really think the Giants would bench or trade Bengie Molina and make Buster Posey the full time starting catcher so that first base would be open for Derek Lee? This would be nice but seems highly unlikely to me. All your suggestion seems to produce to me is Buster back in Fresno which is a very bad idea.

1. Wellemeyer’s injury will just be an excuse to keep him around. The Giants will argue that he was “pitching well” and continue to keep him around and make excuses for him.
2. Bullpen got used up/burned out in a losing effort
3. Rowand hit a homer and Molina actually got a couple of hits. This will give Bochy excuses to continue to play them no matter how bad they do.
4. Giants wasted a ton of scoring chances. Who knows how many they get against Oakland.

#15 opguy are kidding me?! LOL!! Yes, ever GM makes mistakes, but Sabean makes a lot more mistakes than any other GM and he makes the same mistakes over and over again. Just about any other GM does better with the resources we have.

dregarx – re: F. Sanchez trade – I can’t make that assessment yet. F. Sanchez has preformed for the Giants recently while T. Alderson is still a no show in the Pirates farm system (i.e. not performing well) — This trade won’t be able to be assessed for a few years still.

wupuck: “dregarx – re: F. Sanchez trade – I can’t make that assessment yet. F. Sanchez has preformed for the Giants recently while T. Alderson is still a no show in the Pirates farm system (i.e. not performing well) — This trade won’t be able to be assessed for a few years still.”

I disagree with this, and I’ve had this argument with several people already. I’d love to discuss it with you but unfortunately I’ve got stuff to do and there is a TON of information that we have to be sure we both know before we can thoroughly cover the topic.

The next time we’re both here I’ll be sure to shoot you a post and we’ll talk about it. Sorry that I’m so busy right now. I’ve already put off a conversation with The Wisdom Cow on the same topic. Hopefully when we eventually have it, it will be informative.

Any assistant/scouting director from another, more successful organization could do a much better job than Sabean, I guarantee you newer, fresher ideas would be brought to the table. We’d do a much better job of evaluating FA talent, Sabean is the single worst GM at evaluating free agents, the guy is worse at wasting money than goldiggers at a mall.

And Rich, I’m wondering why you are confused as to why I don’t think what you said makes sense.

You said: “Anyway, I don’t know how much Derek Lee helps. Besides not having done much this year so far, it doesn’t really matter how many “middle-of-the-order” hitters you get if you keep hitting into DP’s.”

Stupid thought. Derek Lee is old, is batting .234 and only has 7 HRs. Why would you trade for him? We currently have 4 1st basemen. Posey, Huff, Sandoval & Ishikawa. Huff Is playing well above Lee and so is Posey. in other words do your research before you make a ridiculous suggestion like that. Now in a Miguel Cabrera or Prince fielder or someone that is young with “statistical” power (today not 4 years ago) that would be different. Reality though if a legitimate Outfield bat was available that would be the only place that the Giants have room. Ryan Braun example

Those DPs were brutal. Had Welle struck out instead, the Giants probably win the game and get to trade him to St. Louis when when MadBum comes up. The other two were solid defensive plays, so it’s hard to blame the DP trend there, or is it?

Honest question for those with experience or mad hitting knowledge: Should they have been trying to elevate for either HRs, gap hits of sac flies? It is a small park. I get that bases loaded with one out isn’t exactly the time you ask for a sac fly in a potentially high scoring game, and this is most definitely hindsight loaded, but I am curious whether trying to lift the ball would have been a preferable approach. Anyone?

Nice post on getaway day, Baggs. Lots of good info in the gamer, notebook and blog. Very much appreciated.

I’m with the NO group on D.Lee, especially if we have to give up any pitching, majors or minors. We’re loaded at 1B, especially w/Posey playing there instead of C (and hitting third, where he belongs).

Thanks also for calling out Sandoval. We all love our Panda, but he has substantial issues to address and resolve, as you and some of the posters pointed out so well.

I’m very impressed with Aubrey Huff. I was skeptical at first, but the guy’s a real pro, best strike zone discipline on the team, and he has played solid OF for us.

I vote no on Lee, too, but only because it is another old guy for a “stretch run” the Giants are not really in yet. I suppose I could change my mind later. He’s worth keeping in mind, but I hate the idea of giving up young guys for one year rentals when the team should still be rebuilding and getting younger.

So the umps butchered another game with several missed calls, any one of which could have given the game to the Giants. No cries for the commissioner to reverse the game, which has been my point all along. The perfect game call was de riguer, rather than an exception … the big issue for the commish is to get some competent umps who care about calling a game correctly. Those are now in the minority in MLB

F.P. revealed a coaching flaw in the Bochy way today…listen up rookies and San Jose Mercury blog writers, here’s what real baseball minds see and report accordingly (F.P. knows the game).

The San Francisco Giants do not have a sign for the batter to give when a squeeze bunt is put on.

This is lazy coaching, imo. It doesn’t absolve Pablo of missing the sign, but for a major league team to not have some type of indicator from the player to show the runner on 3rd and 3rd base coach the squeeze is on, then you run the risk of screwing up the play so bad the runner gets caught.

That’s exactly what happened today. It didn’t have to happen and Bochy not having this sign in place actually reveals a lot as a coach. It shows he isn’t the type of coach who should be calling such plays. Small ball requires a higher level of sophistication to run properly, and Bochy is really just a coach that was o.k. during the day steroids ruled the game and he could just fill out his lineup and let ’em rip.

So the GDPs aren’t a problem? The Giants have the third best team BA in the league, yet find themselves in the bottom of the league in scoring. It must just be the lack of thump and speed, and nothing to do with the league leading GDP’s and poor hitting w/RISP.
And you’re taking my statement a little too literal. The point is that it’s not lack of power that’s hurting this team. Sure, it’d be nice to hit more homeruns, but this offense could be passable if it were just a little better situational hitting team. And I don’t know how much better Derek Lee will help. He hasn’t hit well so far this season. Maybe he gets hot. Maybe he doesn’t. The belief that he will is a little presumptuous.

Bagg, thanks for calling out Pablo in the blog…Now please do it on the Merc’s sports page… Pablo’s “don’t think” attitude can be endearing, but professional athletes such as him has the responsibility to perform, and I hope he matures soon and realizes that.

Rich, not that it is a reason, but it’d be a lot more concerning if the Giants lead GIDPs without being high in BA. I mean, you have to be getting people on base in order to ground into a double play, so it makes sense that the BA (and/or OBP) leaders would probably have more opportunities as well, though I have not analyzed the numbers on that.

Point taken, Wisdom Cow. So I’d say it’s lack of speed and situational hitting. Ideally, with this ballpark, a team should build around pitching, defense, and high OBP guys with speed– not lumbering old guys who use to have power. But I’ll take any offense however I can get it.

It will take time, but that is another reason not to trade for Lee, using any chip that could be used to acquire younger faster players. If anything the GIDPs may be the saving grace that forces the club to realize rebuilding is needed instead of pressing to squeak into the playoffs. Giant fans are smart enough to appriciate and root for promising youth, too.

I know anything could happen with the pitching staff if the Giants are in the playoffs, but the odds will be with the other teams.

Agreed on Lee. I have no problem waiting out a couple bad years if there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Seemed like Sabes & Co was on board too until the Gmen started out well last year and Sabean did a 180 and switched back into contending mode. It’s almost like they need to get worse before they get better. Otherwise, it’ll continue to be this muddling along, patchwork team. Ahhh, to be a Giants fan.

rich… thank you! That post dregarx mentioned was written by a statistician not someone who plays or understands baseball. Read it twice it doesn’t pass the smell test.

Our #3 hitter rolling over groundballs early in the count and killing two outs more often than anyone in the MLB is a HUGE problem.

How stupid are you to say it is all luck…. the reason there are runners on base… is because he is in the 3 hole….. this hitter is in theory, in that spot, because they are the best hitter on the team. The #1 and #2 hitters are supposed to be the most likely to be on base. If your best batter rolls into double plays with your most likely base runners….. well… if you can’t figure it out from there …I am lost at how to explain reality to you.

I always laugh at people who never played or even took the time to udnerstand a sport…. but have no problem creating assinine theories.

It is a BIG problem..

Bring back the rude retorts. I know you and that author both had 3 hit games on your JVB Baseball team in 6th grade on glorious day in march 15 years ago….. Even if you did play you were the people with no baseball IQ…..

Will the real baseball fans help push these people out of here… it is embharassing to read.

Sharkalchemy at 45, could you clarify your posting for me. Are you saying that the Giants do not have a sign for a suicide squeeze play at all? Normally, the 3rd base coach will relay a sign to the batter, telling him the plan for the next pitch. I saw Sandoval looking down at Flannery, so I have to think some sort of signal was given.

OR, are you saying that the Giants do not have a way that the batter, in this case Sandoval, can signal back to Flannery that he understood that a suicide squeeze play was on, say by touching his shoulder, or making some other innocuous gesture meaning “such and such a play” understood, thereby ensuring that everyone is on the same page?

“The Giants have the third best team BA in the league, yet find themselves in the bottom of the league in scoring. It must just be the lack of thump and speed, and nothing to do with the league leading GDP’s and poor hitting w/RISP.”

Rich, batting average doesn’t correlate nearly as well to runs scored as OBP and slugging percentage do.

The Giants are below average at both, and not unexpectedly, they are third-worst at runs scored in the NL. This is just another excellent demonstration of why BA is not a very good metric for measuring overall hitter success.

“Ideally, with this ballpark, a team should build around pitching, defense, and high OBP guys with speed– not lumbering old guys who use to have power.”

For hitting, there is no need to distinguish between the lumbering power hitters and the speedy high-OBP hitters. How about just getting good hitters?

Look at the 2004 Giants. They scored the most runs of any Giants team of the AT&T Park era. These are the players who got the most plate appearances for the team:

Pierzynski, Snow, Durham, Deivi Cruz, Edgardo Alfonzo, Pedro Feliz, Marquis Grissom, Michael Tucker, Barry Bonds.
The only one of those players noted for his speed is Durham, and he had a grand total of 10 steals that year!
They had lots of power: Durham, Feliz, Grissom, and Bonds combined for 104 jacks.

The idea is that there are many ways to improve a bottom-feeder offense, and you need not limit yourself to just one.

I might just be getting worked up over nothing, seeing as you did say this:

“But I’ll take any offense however I can get it.”

But I really get infuriated whenever I hear the sentiment that the Giants should get “speed” or “situational hitting” or some other such quality to fix the lineup. Really, they should just focus on getting quality hitters (think Posey) who know what they are doing at the plate and make good contact. Once they’ve breached the level from horrible to mediocre, then they can think about getting the extra bonuses.

I mean, Eugenio Velez has “speed” and “situational hitting”. But he doesn’t know what he’s doing at the plate and doesn’t steal bases. He’s a bad hitter. The emphasis is on the wrong thing. This is why I’m not enthused by the Gary Brown pick. He has burning speed, which is great, and awesome contact skills, but he has no plan at the plate, and never walks. This doesn’t bode well for his minor-league hitting success.

In a way, I like what you’re saying, and I do think you make good points. To me, it represents dropping the old slugs like Molina and Rowand and going with the speed and youthful promise of Posey, Schierholtz, and Lewis (but that train has left the station). But I think it can be a bit of a distraction from the simplest way to crank up run totals: getting on base more up and down the lineup, and getting some power in the batter’s box.

..panda would be tossed out of the car on his giant keester in reno on a cross country road trip.. so he must get on the other players nerves after a while …enough already on the panda mania…dude is overweight and needs to watch freddie sanchez or any other veteran to see how to conduct oneself….blowing a bubble when you make a play in the field is cute if you are in little league……things to lose: weight this to keep: eyes on the coach at third

..panda would be tossed out of the car on his giant keester in reno on a cross country road trip.. so he must get on the other players nerves after a while …enough already on the panda mania…dude is overweight and needs to watch freddie sanchez or any other veteran to see how to conduct oneself….blowing a bubble when you make a play in the field is cute if you are in little league……things to lose: weight this to keep: eyes on the coach at third…..

Alderson is 5-2 For Altoona. Not too bad. ERA not
up to standard, but who knows what the game conditions
were at the time. Freddie Sanchez is a good player, it will
take time to tell if the trade was a good one.

Why don’t they drop Sandoval in the order until he gets his bat back. The best hitter on the team (Posey) should be batting 3rd. I also think Rowand needs to get demoted to a bench role and give Burrell a shot at starting everyday cause he is hitting the cover off the ball even when he makes outs.

Where is the criticism of Bochy for his part in bungling today’s game? He completely mismanaged the bottom of the 8th. There should have been a lefty facing Votto especially the way Mota had created an inferno. Bochy also shouldn’t be giving his best hitter the squeeze play sign.

Some folks have said Bochy has cost us 10 games. I have counted that many myself.

And I’m guessing you know how many he has won for us, too. If Pablo recognizes the sign, Bochy would be praised. I like the risk-taking philosophy. Maybe we can get more of that with getting runners in motion with Torres, Franchez, and Nate. But that would require nate to play more.

Baggs-
Instead of Lee, a rented player who may cost us a big-time prospect, why shouldn’t Sabean try to go for Juan Pierre from the ChiSox? Can you break down the possibilities in acquiring Pierre? What would it take to get him? Or do you think the outfield is too crowded as is?

We are in a modified small ball era that has passed Bochy by. He doesn’t know how to coach and manage his team to manufacture runs. Today’s Sandoval debacle (please no more kiddie “panda” references) is a glaring example. When he rarely makes an active move on the basepaths it backfires. He loves vets and station-to-station ball. PacBell and half our roster wants to move into the modern age.

Lee…for that kind of money I would rather see a serious run at Fielder…

Assuming Molina isn’t probably going to go anywhere soon, Lee would just be screwing over Posey – then it would be so much for that supposed youth movement. Giants need to step back, dump what isn’t needed, and build off of the talent…we need to build a contender for years to come, not just a “one hit wonder.”

I love the Giants, but I’m just tired of seeing the same crap season after season…its time to make significant changes because obviously doing the same thing (that isn’t working) over and over again and expecting different results…is just plain dumb.

Man Baggs I have to totally disagree with you on D. Lee! He is OLD.. slowing down… and has a BIG looping swing that is NOT going to get better as he slows down more in the next year or so! And what would the Giants have to give up for three months of “rental” on D Lee? NO.. NO… NO.. too risky … we already have too many aging “gamers” on this team to add another one!

Pablo missing that squeeze sign is partially his fault and partially BAD coaching! When I played we had a “answer” sign to indicate we had the crucial signs like the squeeze where a guy could get killed if the batter swings away!! Nobody on here has even mentioned how dangerous that was to Whiteside! Man.. he could have gotten killed on that missed sign! Bochy is totally negligent for not having a confirmation sign on the squeeze play!

That all said, I am REALLY disappointed in Pablo this year so far! The league has made some adjustments to him and so far he seems incapable of adjusting back to the way they are pitching him! I know how hard it is to lay off a high fastball.. but he has seen so many you’d think he’d be getting the idea by now … LAY OFF THE DAMN HIGH HARD ONE! He is not taking his conditioning seriously.. and now he is missing signs! Unless he turns it around soon he may be one of those one-year wonders we see from time to time. I hope not!

PASS on Fielder too! Man.. we already got a guy with a weight problem on the team.. we need another one??? How long do you think Fielder is going to last with his lack of conditioning and his temperament? I give the guy at most another 5 years in MLB.. unless he totally changes his character and lifestyle.. pretty hard to do when you are already a multi-millionaire star!!

You want to go after a STAR with all the tools for a LONG productive career … then go after Braun with a long-term contract! Give up some pitching (big name pitching even!) and maybe Sandoval… but I doubt the Brewers would go for it unless it was heavily in their favor.

First, one of the double plays was bogus. Uribe was safe at first. Second, this wasn’t get away day. It was give away day. 13 hits, 8 walks adds up to 13 LOB. But they’re coming home which should be a tonic for the team. Go Giants!!!!!!!!!!

Jeez, just read that blog about GDIP and talk about worthless. Eric had it right.

Re No. 39, I don’t think that with the bases loaded you want guys thinking about homers unless they are unusual hitters or you’re down by 4 late. Nor do I think that a sac fly, per se, should be your goal. But, what you do have to do is work on getting your pitch, which is a pitch you can drive somewhere. What that pitch is depends on the hitter – for me it tended to be one a bit away because I didn’t try to pull it, but for other guys it would be one middle in. What you should be avoiding is swinging at a pitcher’s pitch in a hitter’s count, especially trying to pull a down and away first pitch. To me, that’s just horrid hitting. Post all the blog pieces you want about why it isn’t, but it is. That pitch is a ball and you’re pissing away a 1-0 count and a chance to work for your pitch in exchange for that sick-making ground ball to short or second for two.

This ain’t rocket science, and even the fantasy leaguers should be able to see it.

Yo, Mavo: good to hear from you, man. How are you feeling these days? Hope there’s good news on the health front.

Good posts (#74-76), I agree with all points except trading pitching. Yes, Braun would be an outstanding get, but Brewers won’t trade him. They would more likely try to package some combo of Fielder, Hart, or McGehee and prospects for Matt Cain and other good pitchers in our system. Not good for us!

I am adamant in my belief that we can win with what we have. If Burrell puts up numbers similar to his Phillies days, Huff and Uribe continue to provide veteran leadership, Posey hits .290-.300, and everything else is static, we should not trade our pitching!

I’m not big on suggested line-ups, but from now to the A-S break, this one works for me:

Can you tell that the Giants have a message they are trying to get across.

“Bruce Bochy isn’t worried about making friends”

After 3 years of him doing just that with old washed up players he suddenly has shifted gears and EVERYONE in Giants land wants you to know this. Kruk says it everyday on the broadcast Baer said it on Ralph and Tom and I feel like the last week I have heard it EVERY day.

That being said I am glad he is finally done coddling some of these guys.

Right, sorry, I reread it. I did not mean to imply thinking HR at the plate and it does read that way. Your use of “driving the ball” was much more apt, which implies a bit of lift as well, as opposed to a contact grounder. I think I should have said the ABs should focus on driving a ball to the gaps, with the possibility of a double, Sac Fly, or even a HR being the result, which I presumed meant swinging at your pitch, not a pitchers pitch.

What I was thinking was much more like you wrote than what I wrote myself. Glad you responded.

Former Prospect Update: Alderson has actually pitched very well since mid-May; he got off to a slow start this year but appears to be figuring it out. The other prospect the team threw away last season, Scott Barnes, has been up and down this year for AA Akron, but he just put in 7IP, 2H, 10K, 0BB in his last outing. Neither of these guys would be within 1-2 years of contributing to this team, but I think the idea that they weren’t able to be packaged for something better than an injured Freddy Sanchez and future non-tender Ryan Garko is fallacious. Sabean was feeling the pressure last year and got locked into making a deal, dumping two decent prospects for not much last season.

Rich , BA is very over rated. The Giants have the 3rd highest BA of NL teams. But can’t score runs because also have the 9th ranked OB%. That means they can not get on base. How do you go from 3 in one category to 9 in the other? You do that becasue you have a bunch of hackers like Rowand and Molina who swing at slope.

I agree DP’s are killing us , but hitters ability to not work counts and get on base hurt us also. When you factor in OPS , we rank 11th. Even worse. this means , that most times our hitters get a hit it is a single, or someone like Molina hits a ball hard , but has no speed to strecth out into a double.

They need more hitters that work a count , and have speed. Huff, Posey, Freddy and Torres do this well. Molina , Rowand , Pablo , Uribe and Renteria do not. In a lineup you need some free swingers , but anymore then one or two will kill you.

If we are to trade for a bat, let’s perhaps focus on a younger bat. Or simply give Burrell a chance. Bench Molina, start Huff in LF and let Posey catch. Burrell goes to right, Torres to center and the Giants have a great lineup.

But if that’s no good, go after a young 1B with upside, not an over the hill washed up & broke down lee with a bad back and history if wrist injuries who’s clearly on the downside of his career.

Terrible idea. Truly horrible. Someone like Bumgardner could be dealt for a REAL, legitimate power prospect who is MLB-ready. The Royals are ready to give up on Alex Gordon, who can play 1st and they need pitching. Why not target him? He can play 1st, 3rd and the OF. Think Alex Gordon for Bumgardner – that is your money trade.

All you people bashing Pablo Sandoval day after day, hour after hour are a joke. Last year nobody on this blog was calling him immature, fat, annoying or lazy. He has made some bonehead mistakes this year, but it is his 2nd year in the Majors. After all the excitement & good moments he gave me last season with his clutch hitting I am gonna give home some time before ripping him 24-7-365. He needs to step his game up but he is not what is wrong with the GIANTS. What is wrong with te GIANTS has nothing to do with wins & losses or any group of players. It has to do with SABEAN & BOCHY & their idea of how to construct a team. They have changed nothing & will always love vets who eventually break down & block all young players from seeing the field. This team is never gonna win a WORLD SERIES under the current leadership & that is a promise! LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE PEOPLE.

Bingo, while DPs are certainly driven a lot by bad luck stretches, we would not be on a record pace if not for Sandoval. Big league pitchers realize he’s more hacktastic now than he was last year, thus EVERY TIME he’s up with a runner on 1st and less than two outs pitchers are pitching him down, mostly with soft stuff because he’s way too over-aggressive and rolls over on it.

If he just learned a little bit about patience, not saying be a 100 walk a year guy (although that would be nice), but walking a bit more, or just taking more pitchers pitches will inevitably lead to better pitches to hit and more success.

#68 Nucsheler – I have yet to see a whinier bitch on these blogs other than you. All you do is whine about those who point out insightful criticisms. There are nearly 100 comments on this blog, inevitably some or negative. You contribute nothing and your arguments are more useless than dicta. Apparently you gloss over the postings touting how ecstatic everyone is over Posey, or how great it is what Torres has developed into, or how great Uribe and Huff have been this year, or how much of a workhorse stud Cain has been. You suck in every way and need to leave the blog, there is no place for you amongst true Giants fans.

By the way BAGGS, suggesting that we trade for an old, oft-injured, declining player such as DERREK LEE was an absolute joke & a horrible idea. Are you sure SABEAN doesn’t write some of your material, or is that you two just think alike? That is what the GIANTS don’t need, but knowing how our GM thinks, it will be a trade that he probably makes very soon. =(

Kenny , some of us are not bashing Pablo. But we are concerned. Your right it could be a somphmore slump, but his inability to hit the high fastball(especially from the right side) has me a little worried. He needs to become more picth selective. I understand he is a agrresive hiiter and he needs that, but he needs to be a little more choosy and lay of the high fastball and the picthes in the dirt. Where not asking him to become Barry Bonds and have that kind of discipline, but he must get better.

Right now , I would drop him down to seventh to alleviate some pressure. Hopefully he regains some confidence+ more plate disipline

Derrek Lee: It seemed like he would be on the Giants radar for the ’11 FA campaign. With Aubrey Huff’s success here, certainly don’t think so anymore. How many 1B, 2B & C ‘s do the Giants need on the roster?

Why is Baggs touting the Chicago pool of fire-sale candidates? Is there a connection? Oh yeah, there is.

I’ll tout this: The Giants need another outfielder. They need to be flexible with respect to finding a guy with speed or power; both would be great. Consider the impact Andres Torres has on the team. Consider the impact Juan Uribe has on the team. They only need to find ‘that’ guy.

@Comment#98- ROGER- Criticizing while making valid observations & bashing are 2 totally different things. I have the same concerns you & a few other level headed fans do about Pablo & his lack of patience, pitch selection & conditioning. He is always gonna be a free swinger, but he has to not swing at the same shoulder high, out of the strikezone pitches over & over. If I bash Rowand for that, I have to do the same for Pablo. Rowand is far worse & aggravating to watch though swinging at those sliders in the dirt. =/ But the people throwing personal insults at Sandoval are just ignorant fair weather fans. They look almost as stupid as the people wearing those lame PANDA hats. Well, nobody can ever look that stupid!! HaHa.

Time to call out Pablo for what he is: fat, out of shape and clueless at the plate. He needs to knock it off with the whole Panda thing and get back to focusing on baseball. He’s having a lousy year for a good reason and to simply wait for him to snap out of it is based more on hope than reality. If I’m the Giants, I dont invest in his long term prospects unless he gets serious about his career…NOW.

The GIANTS don’t need ANOTHER outfielder, as much as they DON’T need Rowand/Molina!! I don’t care if we get Fielder, Texiera and A-Rod this year, because Rowand/Molina will still play and the Giants will still LOSE.

STOP the SS/OF/Utility player trade rumors!!!!! The ANSWER is to Fire/Bench/Trade Molina/Rowand and Boche!!!

What a horrible writer. People died in the Gulf of Mexico you inconsiderate loser. Can’t believe you are covering anything more important than a game of playground jacks. Get a writing coach, an editor and a clue.